The Pretender
by Bravenewdust
Summary: [RaitoL]Raito's father died when he was young, sparking Raito's need for justice at an earliar age. Now he judges mankind through his computer... until someone needing his talents stumbles into his life claiming his name is Ryuzaki Ryuga.
1. The Amazing, Escaping Voyeur

A/N- Well, has anyone ever seen The Pretender? Excellent show and it kinda reminded of Death Note, well, L reminded me of Jared. Thought I'd make it so. I won't be following either story to the T, its just Pretender was the inspiration for the fic. I think this chapter needs editing and I'm in desperate need for a beta. Constructive reviews would be appreciated! I'm a feedback whore and I'm usually more motivated to put a new chapter out the more feedback I get, but, yeah. I will finish this! Yay! The chapters should get longer after this too.

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note or its characters. Seriously, I don't even own its manga or anime. I had to borrow all of that. I don't own The Pretender either. Not even the DVD box set.

The Pretender

Trapped. L was trapped in a little black room. He took all his meals there, slept in corner in a bed that felt like the floor, and he cleaned himself in the opposite corner that acted as his bathroom. There was a single door with no handle and above it was the only decoration L was allowed: a miniature camera.

There were only two other places L had ever visited. The long hallway was one of them, it led out of L's box and to the only other place he went. The Emersion Room. L was in that place more than the box they put him in to sleep.

They were going to come and fetch him soon. L couldn't even remember a time clearly where he slept as he knew normal people did. Four in the morning was when he was woken unless someone had added in a little extra to the standard fee for using L. L nearly allowed a smear to be shown on his face at that thought, but decided against it. The taunting and antagonism he would receive later weren't worth it later. Weariness tugged at his bones today.

He settled for glowering internally.

What he really wanted to do was scream. There was never a moment when L was allowed privacy. Never a moment that he could let his guard down.

His very existence was empty. Everyday in the Emersion Room L dealt with other people, sometimes even normal people, if he was studying a victim. All of them were free.

Or were until L caught up with them.

That was his job. Figuring out why people did the things they did or when they would do things. Usually, the people he tracked and Merged with were criminals, the worst of the worst, the ones the government could not understand, the ones no one could find. For a fee he would never receive L heard their twisted thoughts, knew the reasons they used to justify murder, felt the poison of their emotions flow and burn within him. It warped him a little more each time.

The worst jobs were the ones the government didn't pay for. The private organizations that wanted to bump off an innocent for no more than financial security. When L was forced to take trips like that, and he was always forced to in the end, he couldn't be made to function for days afterwards. Others, less talented than he (L knew quite well he was the best there ever was), took over on those days when the grief and guilt and _emptiness_ of it all swallowed him whole.

L wanted it all to end. The loneliness, the pain, the longing were all going to stop. He would simply escape.

---

Raito Yagami was nearly home when he noticed a moving van pulled up to the house beside his. He rolled his eyes heavenward and continued down the cracked sidewalk.

Yet another victim.

People were always moving in and out of that house within a period of at least a few months. Sayu and his mother were always betting about how long the new owner would last. The house either fell apart or was a target for vandalism for each new family.

Plus, it was ugly. And purple. Raito was ashamed to live next to it.

Raito opened the door to his house, setting his school bag down in the entrance. He removed his shoes yelling an obligatory "I'm home!" into the house. As always, his mother and sister came to greet him and both gave him their own style of hug.

His mother wrapped her arms around her son firmly, pressing him to her as she smiled. "Welcome home, Raito. A lot of homework tonight?" Raito allowed himself to smile in her embrace. The calming effect her scent had over him was always surprising.

"Yes, Mom. I'm lucky I don't have night school, tonight. Teacher called in sick." Raito hated lying to her but it had to be done.

His mother nodded and stepped back, beaming in pride at her son. As she back off Sayu threw herself at Raito. "Brother! Remember that math homework you helped me on last night? Well, the teacher thought I did such a great job on it that she gave me extra homework tonight because she said she thought I wasn't being challenged enough! So…will you help me on that to?" She had been yelling up at him but the last bit came out as a murmur when she hid her flushed face in his chest. Raito chuckled.

"Of course, but later, okay? And only if you make me some more of your cookies. I need to get some homework done now. Hopefully, I won't be distracted by all the noise they're making next door." Raito reached for his bag but caught the mischievous gleam in his mother's and sister's eyes.

"What kind of people do you think they'll be, brother?" Raito sighed inwardly. He couldn't care less.

"I have no idea. Probably stupid if they bought that house." Sayu giggled and Raito climbed the stairs to get to his room. He entered it quietly and closed the door silently behind him. Everything inside was in perfect condition; everything put away properly. Not the room of the average teenage boy but Raito was far above average. He was as perfect as his room was.

As with all perfect people, however, he had a secret he was hiding.

The computer hummed as Raito flicked it on and within moment he was online, typing in coded wording. Before doing his usual rounds he would check out the latest stories the media was writing about him.

He went to Sakura TV's website and smiled in surprise. He didn't even need to type anything into their search engine. There he was; the top story of tonight's newscast.

The headline blared, "Hikari: What We Really Know about the One They're Calling 'Savior!'"

Triumph swept over him.

He hadn't dreamed that he would gain this much recognition in only four short months. It was working; soon criminals everywhere would fear the name 'Hikari.' He would be known as the greatest detective in the history of the world. In the beginning he had planned on revealing himself after a few years so that his mother would see that being a detective would not put him harm's way. He'd been planning on telling her that he had yet to be harmed and so pursuing the career would be safe. Any fool could tell that was not a good idea and Raito soon resolved, before he began, to work in secret for the rest of life. He had no doubt that the greatest detective in the world would make many enemies. He was all too aware of that fact. Revealing himself would be a stupid mistake.

Raito, however, was an egotistical creature and desired to take at least some credit for his work. Hikari as a pseudo-name was perfect. It had the ringing of his true name and showed the world what he wanted bring to it. Truth. Purity. Righteousness.

Raito had never let anyone in on his dreams. In the future he would take a simple job doing simple things so that he would never be distracted from his true pursuit. He would be the greatest force of Justice in the world. And no one would ever know. Raito allowed a smirk to form on his lips, marring his handsome face. Yes, the only disappointing part of this was how _easy_ it all was. He sighed dramatically. It was hard being the best. He stretched and began his work.

Raito was able put together a file of thorough evidence against an accused-murdered before Sayu came up to visit him with his math homework. Making her understand it was like pulling teeth but he'd always had a soft spot for his sister. It took them until dinner to finish. Raito then had to go downstairs and eat with his family. He kept the news on in the background, despite his mother's protests that suicides, murders, and rapes weren't proper for dinner conversation. Raito knew how much his interest in those things disturbed her but he wouldn't completely hide it from her. Starting to do that now would only make her suspicious after years of him showing the same behavior.

Immediately after dinner he had gone back into his room, claiming that he had more homework to do, Raito returned to his bedroom and began work on a new case after forwarding the file to an old co-worker of his father's named Matsuda. He'd been the easiest to manipulate into being errand-boy.

The work lasted late into the night and at one in the morning Raito forced himself to stop. He had school to get up for the next morning. Sighing, Raito shut his computer down, spinning the chair around and stretching-

He stopped.

Wide, black, empty eyes stared at him through the window in the house across from his. They were studying him, taking him in. Watching him. Raito's immediate reaction was panic. _How long had this guy been watching him?_

The man-creature was hunched over, perched atop of his desk, openly staring at him. He hadn't even flinched when Raito turned around and caught him! He brazenly just stared back like some autistic child!

It didn't help that he was positively revolting. His hair was matted, looking, like his baggy, simple clothes, like it had never been watched and he was chewing on the tip of his thumb, watching him. What bothered Raito most, however, was the eyes that he had at first dismissed as empty. They were thoughtful. Calculating. What did this guy know?

This guy would have never been able to have seen the screen on his own, he was too far away. It would have looked to anyone like a teenage boy scrambling to finish homework. Then, _what was this guy's problem?_ Raito growled at the outrage of it all, his hands curled into fists and he stomped forward to draw the blinds over his window. All the time screaming in his mind, _'How dare he?!'_

He flipped the light switch off threw himself down into bed, clothes still on, and nearly clawed his sheets. Just his luck to have some retarded voyeur move in next door! Nothing would come between him and his dream! Nothing! He looked over to the picture of him and his father, glowing in the moonlight filtered from the blinds. It was taken the week before he had died. Raito was sitting beside his father at the kitchen table, grinning at the camera after receiving an award for the highest ever grades in the school by those who had taken the fifth grade standardized tests. His father, however, was beaming at Raito, the joy, the pride, and love he had for his son etched onto his face.

The fury within Raito calmed and coolness overtook him in its stead. There was little to be gained in overreacting. He could not avenge his father's death if anger blinded him.

Within the hour Raito had forced himself to sleep, he had mastered control over himself years ago after all. Raito was sure he could do anything if he found the proper strings to pull.


	2. The Symbolism Doesn't Go There

A/N-Yay! Reviews for me! Yay! squee So, yeah, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and making Raito be all…well, you'll see. Yeah, The Pretender is a show that lasted about three seasons. It was about a man named Jared who was a super genius who had been kept in a building since he was about 10, being forced to do the work of the organization by, well, kinda assuming the persona of the target. He finally breaks out when he's around 30 'cause he can't stand killing people any more. He uses his amazing abilities to travel around the country and can blend in perfectly and have any profession. Quite interesting. Yeah. STILL NEED A BETA!

As far as this story goes, no immediate romance. Wouldn't really be in L and Raito's nature, would it? The best part is when is goes from fighting to cuddling anyway….

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, The Pretender, or Catcher in the Rye.

The Pretender

Chapter Two: The Symbolism Doesn't Go There

Raito arrived at school the next morning to find out the talk about getting a new teacher wasn't just talk. The entire classroom was abuzz with more gossip than the norm and there wasn't the usual hush over the crowd when he entered the room. This immediately put him off. He was used to demanding the attention of the room.

Not letting his irritation show, Raito took his seat and pulled last night's reading out of his bag. Catcher in the Rye. It was an American book, one that he had read when he entered middle school that bored him just as much now as it had then. Literary classic his ass….

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the two girls on the right exchange glances before turning their eyes to focus back on him. It looked like he was going to get some attention this morning after all.

The mousy-haired one seemed to be the braver of the two. She cleared her throat before she giggled softly, going for what she must have thought as charming. "Um, er, Raito-san…" she began shyly before giggling again. Raito resisted the urge to roll his eyes or simply ignore her and so turned to face her with a smile. His beauty caused the two females to look away and erupt into soft, childish giggled all over again. For the love of God….

"Yes?" he asked pleasantly after they let the silence go on far past its prime. Blushing, the mousy one smiled.

"Raito-san…has Raito-san seen the new teacher yet? He's so very strange,  
Raito-san!" Both of them proceeded to bob their heads in unison, flat-ironed hair mussing. All that work that morning, for nothing, Raito mused. If only they could contain their lack of an IQ to inside their heads….

"No I haven't seen him yet. Why do you say he's odd?" That seemed about the most neutral thing to say. The mousy one opened her mouth to let out what would have surely been another astute answer, punctuated by more giggles, but was stopped short when the classroom door slammed open.

Revulsion exploded in Raito's stomach.

In the doorframe stood the bent creature that had _spied on him last night!_

The voyeur was doing exactly what he did last night: stare. Without a single blink he met the eyes of every single student in the class…and stopped when he came to Raito. If was possible, those bulging black eyes widened even more in surprise. A pause. A small smile rose to the demented man's sickly pale face. Raito felt bile rise in his throat.

Still smiling, the creature shuffled his way to the teacher's desk at the front of the room. All eyes were locked on him and the only sound Raito could hear was his own blood pumping in his ears. His fists clenched. The thing grinned.

"Hello, class. My name is Ryuzaki Ryuga. I will be your new history teacher."

"Hello, Ryuga-sensei," the class echoed back. All but one.

Raito had for the moment lost all of the composure he had worked so hard to be able to contain at all times. Ice had crept along inside his belly, putting the burning rage inside him at a standstill at the announcement. This couldn't be happening. No. This, this creature, this Ryuzaki Ryuga, this husk of a man could not be any teacher of his. The ice within him shattered as rage blazed within him. His hands stayed by his sides but his fingernails were digging into his palm.

"I am only going to be covering the 20th century, as that's the portion of history that I'm sure you've never learned and in today's society is most relevant. I am only going to be here, sadly, until your old teacher deems herself well enough to teach again after having her baby. Seeing as she will receive pay up until six months from now, I'd say you and I should learn to get along." That elicited laughter across the classroom and Ryuga put the tip of his thumb in his mouth and began chewing thoughtfully, much as he had the night before.

Raito had felt something inside him snarl when they all had laughed. These, these _children_ were accepting him! Accepting this ape-man…he wasn't even dressed properly! The plain, baggy clothes dangled from his skinny form and as he sat atop the teacher's desk he _removed his sandals!_ He didn't even look old enough to teach!

"Is it safe to assume some of you did last night's reading? Because I would really like to begin my lesson." Some of the class nodded hesitantly.

Now, Raito was surprising himself with extinct that his anger was taking him, he was surprised about just how _much_ he hated this man. This man who had watched him last night, this man who had seen Raito when he had felt secure, safe, allowed himself to be drop the constant act, allowed himself to be vulnerable, this simian creature who had violated Ratio was sitting on a desk before him _teaching history class!_

Ryuga picked a copy of Catcher in the Rye out of the desk, holding it nimbly between his fingers and cocking his head at the cover. "Ah, I remember this. A different sort of literature…" he mused. Even his and Raito's opinions on books differed.

Ryuga's head snapped up and he now stared openly at Raito, smiling softly. Raito wanted to kill him.

"What's your name?"

One of Raito's better points, however, was his acting. He smiled as pleasantly as he would for any other new teacher and his voice sparkled with its usual charm. "Raito Yagami, sensei." The thing nodded and looked as though Raito's name were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Well, would you read us the part of this book you found to be the most intriguing, so far? But you have probably already read the entire book so you may choose from all of that too, Raito-kun."

Raito-_kun?!?!_ Wasn't this man going to try and at least maintain the façade of professionalism?! Even a simple Raito-san would be far better than this! No one had ever _dared_ to call him Raito-_kun_!

He smiled amiably. "Of course, sensei." Raito stood, flipping the book open to the least boring bit of the book he could find.

"'…I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all.'"

The entire class nearly sighed in disappointment when he finished his recitation. His voice could be so melodic when he called it to be….

Ryuga frowned. "What made you choose that, Raito-kun?"

What kind of question was that? Was this literature class? "I chose it, sensei, because I felt it best described the theme of the book. The main character may be slightly offbeat and make decisions while putting little thought into them but this shows that he is inherently good and simply confused." Raito felt that was a satisfactory answer but Ryuga, again, frowned.

"But what does that mean to you, Raito-kun?"

"…excuse me?"

"Raito-kun, do you believe that all people are inherently good?"

For the first time ever, Raito faltered in class. "S-sensei, what does that have to-?"

"Do you think that everyone can eventually redeem themselves, Raito-kun?" The room was silent, save the two of them: Ryuga with his penetrating stare and Raito for the first time ever displaying confusion and something akin to…panic?

"Well, what do you think, Raito-kun?"

_Why the fuck did every sentence have to include 'Raito-kun'?!?!_

"Sensei, I'm am not completely clear on what these questions have to do with 20th century history." Hah! Take your medicine, Ryuga….

"These are the sort of question every man must ask of himself during his lifetime. I am merely trying to make an example of you, Raito-kun. If you would, please oblige me." He blinked innocently, looking befuddled as to why Raito wouldn't simply answer his questions. That bastard.

Raito allowed a look of great understanding to pass over him before giving Ryuga the smallest of smiles. "Oh, of course sensei, I-" he began.

"You are forgiven. Now please, Raito-kun, your answer?"

Raito nearly lost his composure. No one interrupted him. No one. Certainly not a man who looked to be the Snow White of the apes. After years of hard work would it really be worth it to let his image of perfection slip away? Sadly, the answer was no. His mission as Hikari made even this ghost of a man pale in comparison. Raito continued his crocodile smile.

"Yes, sensei. People who have committed crimes cannot undo what they have done. Those who do not get caught the first time almost always-"

"What percentage?"

"Excuse me, sensei?"

"What percentage of the time do you think criminals go onto commit other crimes, Raito-kun? 83? 76? 94?"

"99."

Silence was what answered that but Raito was sure Ryuga was nibbling harder on that damned thumb of his.

"Why so high, Raito-kun?" Ryuga finally asked in a voice just above a whisper.

"Drawing a little farther back into history than you want us to visit, sensei, I think I should answer that with original sin." Ryuga's eyes widened in shock.

"You are a religious man, Raito-kun?"

Raito shook his head to hide his smirk. "No, sensei, I am an atheist. However, the Biblical legend of original sin was created for a reason. People needed to why the most righteous people with the best intentions committed crimes. Evil, in all of its forms, has been a part of the human condition since our emergence as sentient beings. Blaming others in religious folklore is one such way that humans can justify the fact that they are inherently flawed and it distances the criminal from their own actions. Many even use the justification of purifying themselves and others from original sin as an excuse for their crimes. That is why so many of them go back: because so many of them feel that their crime was right in the eyes of God. Or that others are to blame. It is never their fault."

There was silence once more. No one seemed to breathe and Raito got the impression from those large, dark eyes he stared into that they could see through him enough to see that he was smiling in triumph.

"…so, Raito-kun…you believe all criminals use religion to justify themselves?"

"Only the most sophisticated ones. They are the ones who sin over and over again and use God as their excuse."

---

Raito had been more impatient than usual today for school to end. Typically the boredom he felt made the clock go by so slowly, not his own stupidity. When Ryuga had left after his lesson Raito realized just how far down his mouth he had stuck his foot. Everyone had seen his little display, for once he had forgotten about acting because he had been too busy making an ass of himself trying to one-up Ryuga. Now the entire class would know his real opinions on, because he had stated things deadly close to how he truly felt, justice. How everyone was corrupt somewhere within their core. How he thought everyone used whatever they could to falsely justify their own stupid, malevolent actions. Well, he conceded, there wasn't a person he had met to date that matched him in intelligence and so his decisions must be better than those of the ignorant population.

"Raito-kun," said a sudden, soft voice very close to his ear. Raito jumped, spun himself around, prepared himself to fight…and Ryuga, the voyeur, was standing hunched and awkwardly before him. He gave the younger an inquisitive look. "You're very jumpy for someone who acts so calm, Raito-kun." Raito wanted to snap, _'Stop saying my name, you freak!!' _but formed his features into something more friendly than the desired sneer.

"Sensei, you frightened me, you move with such stealth." Maybe the old flattery trick would get the reject to leave him alone.

"Ryuzaki."

"…what?"

"Outside of class I would like you to call me Ryuzaki, Raito-kun. We are neighbors after all."

That piece of…

"I hope you will forgive me, Raito-kun." In went the thumb again. "Watching you last night was horribly rude of me, I happened to be passing by the window when I glanced over to see you working. I was quite impressed, never before have I seen anyone work with such dedication and passion. I was honestly surprised you did your homework for today's class. I thought that someone who worked with such fervency must have some higher calling than school work." He had fallen into step beside Raito. He seemed to have every intention of escorting him home.

"Ay, me," the newly-christened Ryuzaki sighed dramatically. Raito could recognize when he was being taunted. He was just a little slow on the uptake this time because no one had ever had the gall to do it before.

"Well, I want to have a bright future, Ryuzaki. I'm sure you can understand that."

"And what exactly do you want to do in this future Raito-kun?"

"I'm not exactly sure. I just want to keep my options open so I do well in school." No way was he confessing his dream, not if he couldn't tell his own mother.

"I was impressed by your intellect today, Raito-kun. I think high school bores you." That startled Raito. No one said things like that and was so very right. "I think Raito-kun allows his true genius to show everyday while he controls himself around those he feels are inferior. You hide your temper well, Raito-kun."

Of course, that comment made Raito seethe but, of course, showing his true feelings would only incriminate him more. He laughed. "You say some strange things, Ryuzaki. What put that idea into your head?"

Ryuzaki ignored the question, removing his thumb from his lips instead. "Would Raito-kun like to 'hang out'? It wouldn't be very proper if it were as student and teacher so I henceforth declare Ryuzaki and Raito-kun to be friends." Ryuzaki smiled. "I've never had a friend before, Raito-kun! You are my very best friend."

Raito couldn't tell if this guy was being genuine and showing off the cornucopia of problems he seemed to possess or if he was being taunted again.

"Well, Ryuzaki, I do have a lot of homework tonight…."

"But Raito-kun is very intelligent, I am sure he can pull himself away from the fervent call is his homework for a little time tonight. Then, he could rest assured that Ryuzaki will speak about Raito-kun's being Hikari. Scout's honor."


End file.
